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Sharks sweep Canucks; Henrik Sedin calls final penalty 'bulls---'

Canucks forward Daniel Sedin is sent to the penalty box for boarding against the Sharks in overtime during Game 4 of their NHL Western Conference quarterfinal at HP Pavilion in San Jose, May 7, 2013. (ROBERT GALBRAITH/Reuters)

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That sound heard from Northern California was the Stanley Cup window officially closing on the Vancouver Canucks.

Make that slamming with authority.

The San Jose Sharks capped their first sweep in franchise history with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Canucks to claim the NHL Western Conference quarterfinal in four games.

“It sucks either way to go out like this, get swept,” said Canucks goalie Cory Schneider. “With the group we have here, we feel that we should have been better and we could have been better, but it's too late for it now.”

Patrick Marleau scored 13:18 into extra time to delight the sellout HP Pavilion crowd of 17,562, hand Vancouver its first four-game series loss since 2001 and become the NHL's first team to reach the second round of the Stanley Cup tournament.

It was San Jose's third power-play goal of the night coming thanks to a dubious boarding infraction on Daniel Sedin.

“It's a bulls--- call,” captain Henrik Sedin said. “It’s overtime, I think shoulder-to-shoulder, but it’s the referees. We’ll get some calls in the future, we’re not getting them right now, and we’ll keep being nice to them and show them respect.

“We’ll get the benefit of the doubt sometime.”

Added Alexandre Burrows: “A boarding call on Danny Sedin, I’ve never seen that in eight years. You’ve got to deal with it. We should have killed it. We can’t blame the refs. We only have ourselves to blame.”

So much for the idea of a Lower Mainland dynasty. They’re still without a crown during this cycle.

The Trevor Linden era didn't bring a title to Vancouver.

The West Coast Express of a decade ago wasn't able to climb the mountain, either.

The Sedins are definitely on the downside of their excellent careers, with the trip to Game 7 of the Cup final two years ago against the Boston Bruins the high point.

Then again, being eliminated in such a manner prevents any false illusions.

It’s not like a year ago when they could easily blame Daniel Sedin's concussion that caused him to miss the first three games of a five-game series loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Losing to the eventual champs also gave the Canucks hope they were a Cup contender.

Having been bounced in the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season, the Canucks are facing another off-season filled with questions.

Likely plenty of changes, too.

It’s hard to believe head coach Alain Vigneault will survive another early exit at the hands of a lower seed.

It's hard to believe general manager Mike Gillis will go through another season with both Schneider and Roberto Luongo sharing the goaltending duties, especially when Luongo, even with his lifetime contract, can net something of value in return.

It's hard to believe the departures from Vancouver will end there, with forwards Derek Roy, Mason Raymond and Maxim Lapierre all pending unrestricted free agents. With the salary cap going down they didn’t show a reason to remain in the fold.

Who knows? Maybe the Canucks will make a truly big move and deal away a player in the calibre of Alexandre Burrows or Alex Edler to bring in an infusion of youth.

That will come after the Canucks digest a loss that saw both teams blow third-period leads.

After Burrows and Edler scored in the third to erase a 2-1 Sharks edge, Joe Pavelski netted his second of the night with less than five minutes remaining in regulation, also on the power play, to force overtime.

In all, San Jose scored seven goals with the man-advantage this series.

“Look at our lineup. This is not the way to go out,” Henrik Sedin said. “It was almost like a first-time playoff team playing against a team that’s played there before. That can’t happen. We’re in the box too many times, in scrums after whistles. Their best guys scored on power plays.”

“Their powerplay is so good right now,” Burrows added. “They’re not only good players, but they’re getting good bounces, rebounds back on their sticks and bouncing pucks finding them. Sometimes you’ve got to tip your hat to them.”